All These Games
by Sakura4eva
Summary: With Sakura running around and preparing for Kazekage's visit, she ignores Sasuke. Not only that, but this Kazekage seems to see her more than all the other eligle candidates... Fireworks are visible already! GaaSakuSasu, NaruHina. OFF HIATUS!
1. Introductions and News

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!**

**All These Games**

Ch.1 - Introduction / The News

Naruto raced down the street as fast as he could. He was looking for three people - two of whom should be considerably easy to find in a crowd, yet he had been looking for about two hours.

"Well, have a good day, Billboard Brow!" a familiar voice chirped out to the right of him.

"You too, Ino-pig." a girl chuckled back to her friend.

"SAKURA!!!" Naruto screamed as he darted towards the voices. "I've been look for you everywhere!"

Sakura turned to face him, knowing all too well who it was. "What's up, Naruto?"

The boy grinned happily. "First, we have to find Sasuke-teme and Hinata-chan."

Oh, yes. Sasuke had come back about three years ago after killing Itachi. He keeps saying that he has to fulfil his second goal, yet no one has ever seen him talk with a girl without some there with him, let alone a girl that's more than a friend

Sakura sighed. She had done so well avoiding him over the past years since he came back, too! Sure, she would see him a few times here and there and when Team Seven reunited and started doing missions together two years after his return.

He had finished being under surveillance and was once again allowed to leave the village, just not yet alone. That would be in another six months or so. But, even during those, now weekly training as a team, and the missions, they had never really talked.

Sakura sighed. "Do we have to, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped dragging the girl and looked her directly in the eye. "Sakura? Do you not like Hinata? She's my girlfriend, you know. I want you two to be friends."

Sakura burst out laughing. "What a ridiculous thought! Hinata, Ino, and I are best friends. Kind of Temari and Tenten, too! I wasn't meaning Hinata..." She stopped laughing.

Naruto got the point and they continued on in their search. "Sakura-chan!!! You have to see Teme sometime. Besides, I know he misses you, even if he doesn't say so."

Sakura shot him a dubious look. "Um... Sure, he does." Then she added, under her breath, "Missing the annoying twit. That's a laugh!"

Naruto glanced at her, confused and was about to ask what she said, when he saw another one of the people he was looking for. "HINATA-CHAN!!! OVER HERE!"

The shy girl turned around to see Naruto bouncing up and down while waving his hands energetically. She giggled fondly at him, and looked to the person beside him. Her smile grew bigger as she saw one of her closest friends shaking her pink head and readying her fist. Hinata ran over to them, hoping to save Naruto from an extra lump on his head.

Just before Sakura got to punch him, another hand beat her to it. She looked up and saw Sasuke.

"Be quiet, Dobe. You're giving us all a head ache." He growled to the energetic blond.

Naruto pouted. "I've been looking for you three for hours and then suddenly you all just show up." He thought for a moment then added, "Teme!"

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

"TEME!"

Sasuke stopped for a second then mumbled, "Dobe."

Naruto apparently didn't catch that because he started prancing around and was gleefully laughing.

Hinata giggled at her boyfriend's antics while Sakura and Sasuke just shook their heads, sighing in unison.

Sakura then realized that she and Sasuke were right beside each other doing the exact same thing, and decided to just get this over with.

"Naruto! Why _were_ you looking for us anyways?"

Naruto snapped out of his laughing fit and grinned. "Gaara's coming!"

The other three blinked. "You were seriously looking for us for how many hours just to tell us that the... KAZEKAGE'S COMING?!?!" It all clicked into Sakura's mind at the end of her sentence what was going on.

"Oh my gosh... I forgot Gaara was Kazekage." Hinata mumbled. "Is he still planning on, well, you know..." She trailed off.

Sasuke looked back and forth between the nodding Naruto, stunned Sakura, and the nervous Hinata.

"Planning on what?" He asked slowly.

"Oh yeah! That's right, you weren't here for it." Naruto sighed and started walking down the road, motioning for the others to follow. "Gaara's planning on coming here to pick a bride and get married here. We have to plan! He's coming this Sunday!"

"Married? Why would he get married? And why would he come here to pick some one?" Sasuke was completely confused as he strode along in between his best friend and Sakura.

"He's being forced to get married by the Suna elders. Apparently they need more proof he'll stay stable and he can't choose anyone from Suna because most are already paired up with some one, are too young, too old, or are his fan girls." Naruto explained.

Sakura and Hinata nodded. "Luckily for you, Hinata-chan, you and Naruto are together. He's not allowed to pick people who already have some one." At this, Naruto took Hinata's hand in his, yelling 'Dattebayo'! Sakura sighed. "Too bad I don't have some one and Gaara and I are close. I have a lot bigger chance then some..." It was Monday that day, which only left six days.

Hinata glanced at her friend, pityingly and Sasuke's eyes widened at her two last sentences.

Naruto furrowed his brow. "Why is that bad, Sakura-chan? Don't you like him? Besides, you have a huge chance and he _is_ the Kazekage... You've got a lot of his favour, saving his brother, saving _him_, killing Sasori, and all..."

Sakura shook her head. "I like him, sure, but I don't want to be forced to marry some one I don't love, and I don't love Gaara."

Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Who _do_ you love, Sakura? You have been on a few dates in the past couple years, after all." Sasuke's breath caught again at Naruto's statement and question.

Sakura laughed as the foursome entered the Konoha Park. "I don't love anyone, Naruto. But, I'll admit some of those dates were fun!" She grinned.

Hinata giggled and asked, as she noticed a whole bunch of people, mainly girls, running around setting some things up up, "Is this where the dance and wedding will be?"

"Yup! I'm going to help out." Naruto chirped. "Are you guys?"

Hinata nodded, while Sakura hesitated a moment, then agreed. They all looked at Sasuke, waiting for his answer.

Sasuke frowned. Were they seriously asking him?

Sakura sighed. She should have known better than to-

As soon as Sasuke had heard Sakura sigh, he rethought and quickly nodded. "I'm in."

Sakura stared up at him in astonishment. "Really?" she asked.

Sasuke shot her a look and she decided not to question it any more.

**Two hours later**

"Hi-na-ta-chaaaaan!" Naruto whined. "I'm bored of setting it up. Don't you think it's done yet?"

Hinata laughed and helped Naruto off the ladder. When they had gone in to help, they immediately got put into groups of two. Sadly for Sakura, she was with Sasuke. Hinata and Naruto hadn't seen the two since they started. They had been putting streamers, lights, and doing bits of cleaning all over one side of the rather large park. Sasuke and Sakura, however, had been sent to the other side of the park doing the same job.

"It was your idea, you know Naruto-kun." Hinata told him. She had always been patient with him.

"Yea, you're right, Hina-chan." Naruto agreed, begrudgingly.

"Hina-chan?" Two voices asked, one rather dazed but still joyous, while the other just sounded surprised.

One of the voices came from Hinata, obviously, while the other they both turned around to see Sasuke and Sakura looking completely worn out.

Sasuke was smirking and Sakura looked over joyed for her friends. She had obviously been the one to ask. Then again...

"What?" Naruto asked. "Did I say something wr-" His eyes widened as he laughed rather sheepishly. "Oh! Sorry Hinata-chan"

Hinata smiled gently at him. "No, it's OK... Naru-kun!"

The three laughed, while Sasuke, the only one not laughing, did a bigger smirk.

An hour and a half later, the tired yet happy couple, went home. Sasuke and Sakura were also heading home, when they realized that they had to take the same road to get home.

About half way through, Sasuke stopped and faced her. "I'm sorry about that."

"About what, Sasuke?" Sakura asked coldly.

He cringed. "You know... While we were setting up."

She glared at him. "Nothing happened as far as I'm concerned. It was an accident and now if you'll excuse me, this is my street."

Without another word, she turned sharply down the road and into her house.

Sasuke sighed. He really didn't mean to... Did he?

* * *

**AN: Well, that's it peoples! How do you like it? XD I'm actually rather proud, but if you can review, I'll know for sure if it's good or not! See ya peoples in the next chapter! Sorry it's kind of short but the next chapter will be longer, promise! Just let me get started... :D REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	2. Ideas and Conflicts

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, happy? Good. I'm not. Well, kinda I am because this way, I can write fan fiction. What would be the point if I owned it? As promised, it's the tenth and here's the next chapter. Now, on with the story!

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**All These Games**

Ch.2 - Ideas and Conflicts

The next few days flew by quickly and the preparing for Gaara's appearance continued all through out the week. With all the setting up and decorating, Sasuke and Sakura hadn't spoken at all except for the expected and casual conversations or comments like, "Does this banner look alright here?" and "Hn." as an answer. Or with Sasuke starting, "Who is Gaara looking for to be his wife, anyways?" and Sakura's response as "Hn."

As you might have guessed, they're communicating wasn't that personal, unless you consider banners and table decor personal.

Once Saturday came, everyone in the village were in an uproar; People going shopping for last minute gifts, or doing touch ups in the park. Hinata and Naruto hadn't talked to Sasuke and Sakura since the day they signed up. Sure, they had seen them rushing about and preparing with them, but they hadn't really said anything.

"I w-wonder how the other two are d-doing on their side of the park?" Hinata mumbled to the noisy, hyperactive blond beside her.

"Ah! I'm sure they're fine! The worst that could happen would be Sasuke saying something retarded, Sakura crying, and the whole party being ruined by their depression." Naruto then realized what he said and tried to comfort his hyperventilating friend.

After a few minutes of Naruto reassuring Hinata, they were once again chatting freely. Hinata then asked something that was on practically everyone's minds. "I wonder who Gaara'll choose."

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. I know he can't stand fan girls and it would have to be someone strong. Don't you think so?"

She nodded. "Gaara wouldn't be able to deal with a screaming girl."

"That cancels out Ino, then, ne?" Naruto burst out laughing.

"N-Naruto-kun! Ino's a friend of mine. And Sakura's, too. She really is nice and I think she likes Shikamaru, anyways."

"I guess..." He murmured. The he broke back into his goofy grin. "At least Gaara won't get you!"

"N-Naruto-kun!" She laughed with her boyfriend in agreement. He couldn't. She was lucky, but others weren't and turning down a Kage's proposal of an allied country, could only mean disaster. She then leaped into Naruto's arms. "He won't ever get me. Don't worry, Naruto-kun. We're together forever!"

"H-Hinata-chan...?" he mumbled, hugging her back.

She looked up at him, her eyes watering. "Don't leave me, Naruto-kun."

He smiled down at her. "I could never." He then kissed her on the top of her head. "MY HINA-CHAN! DON'T TOUCH!"

Hinata immediately blushed, but she still giggled at her boyfriend's antics. She was so happy!

**About two metres aways from the couple**

Sakura sighed. She was glad for her friends and ecstatic that they were together (finally), but she couldn't help but envy their love and strong relationship._ 'If only I could be free from this choosing. Sighhhh'_

Sasuke saw Sakura and slowly walked up to her. "Hn?" he 'asked'.

Sakura sighed out loud this time. She knew what he meant and they were both glad for that. "I don't want to be married out of force. I can't be. I can't be chosen, Sasuke."

Sasuke was surprised by her voice and words. She sounded so forlorn. "Hn. Get a boyfriend, then."

Sakura sputtered at that. "B-boyfriend?" He nodded and she thought for a moment. "You know," she started. "Maybe I should. But still, I come to the problem of practically force! Except the difference is that I would be the one forcing. I don't want that..."

Sasuke sighed. He was getting slightly agitated at all of this complaining, so he suggested, "Why not make it a fake boyfriend. As long as he knows, then it would still be fine. Happy?"

She thought and as the idea sung it, her face broke out into a huge grin. "Thanks so much, Sasuke! That would be perfect! One problem, though..."

"Hn?" he turned to her again and noticed her sheepish smile. 'Uh-oh.'

"Who would be my fake boyfriend?" she asked, timidly.

"Good point." he mumbled. "Get some one who really wouldn't care."

"Kiba?"

"Umm... No. I don't think so."

"Uh... Shin-"

"No."

"OK. I'm guessing not Chouji or Lee, huh?" Sakura giggled.

"..." Sasuke stared blankly ahead of them, not bothering to answer.

"Shikamaru?"

"Doesn't he like Temari or Ino?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh yeah! Good point! So. Neji?"

"NO!" Sasuke was appalled Sakura would even think that in front him!

"But who else is left?! There's no one but you!" She blinked.

"..." He wouldn't say anything.

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Is that a yes or a no?" she asked, now completely freaked out.

"I did kiss you, didn't I?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "You don't like me! You can't! Sasuke... I just got over you. Please... Don't. I'll just ask someone else. See you later, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned to her, about to protest, when he saw her rushing off as fast as she could. No point in going after her now. _'Sighhh.'_

**With Sakura**

_'Keep running! Don't turn. If you turn, you'll cry!'_ Sakura thought, as she raced out of the park, onto the street and towards her apartment. _'I've got to be stronger than that! And I say I'm a konoichi... Pshaw!'_

She went her fastest up the steps, in the door, and into her room. He couldn't have meant the things he said to her. He was just teasing. It was Sasuke, after all. But teasing didn't sound right either. Sakura plopped onto her bed, too exhausted to pull up her covers. Tomorrow Gaara would show up. She would definitely have to get up early if she was going to find a 'boyfriend'.

Maybe Sasuke had meant it. NO! She couldn't think about it. It was way too soon. _'Tomorrow'_ she told herself. _'Tomorrow, everything will change. Better or for worse. Stupid love!'_ With that last thought, whether it was true or not, she drifted off to a dreamless sleep. No more conflicts until the morning. _'Procrastinator!'_

--

Oi! I'm writing a lot recently, ne? Sorry it took a bit to update, but I have a certain pattern in my updates. I hope you like this chapter and thanks to my 2 reviewers, I decided to keep going on it. This chapter is dedicated to you, guys! Enjoy! .


	3. Welcome, Kazekage

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.. :) Really... I'm happy... Forces a cheesy grin then rolls eyes

**All These Games**

Ch.3 - Welcome, Kazekage

The moment the four woke up, they knew it would be a big day. They could hear some people who were already out and finishing the park up to be ready for Gaara's great appearance. Sure, most were girls and they were only deciding on what they were going to wear, how the general look of the decorations would go with their outfits, and the stage, where Gaara would come up to announce who he'd chosen, or if he had decided to move on.

There were, however, some men who were actually interested in getting the rest done as well, but sadly, the only thing really left were the tables and music. Not the macho work they had in mind to get the females' attention away from Gaara. OK, so some of them had ulterior motives, but there were some that had their minds only on finishing... really...

Sakura threw her legs over the edge of the bed and landed snugly in her fuzzy red slippers and grabbed the conveniently placed matching house robe from beside her bedside table and put in on immediately. She then shuffled into her kitchen and got her breakfast going then shuffled back to her room. Getting dressed quickly, she jogged back to the kitchen, and just as she stepped inside, her toast popped.

She had done this whole lazy routine so many times. Whenever she was feeling particularly sluggish, she'd just do this so she wouldn't have to much to do, and jogging back to the kitchen started her lazy blood circulation back up.

After Sakura had finished her breakfast, she made her way to the park, still jogging since one of her legs were apparently still in bed. As she was turning the corner on the end of her street to get to the park, she noticed a person coming along the street she was turning on to. Sadly, she noticed that a little too late, and because they were both running...

_SMACK_

Sakura lay sprawled on the ground, but when she looked up, she recognized the other person immediately.

"Gaara!" she greeted him and she stood up.

The aqua eyed Kazekage was dusting off his pants and hadn't even seen the person yet, but when he recognized the voice, he knew who it was and looked up.

"Haruno." Gaara greeted back, giving her a light smile, then realized she was still on the ground. "Here." He said, holding out a hand, which she excepted gratefully.

Sakura twitched. 'Back to last names? Sighh.' Then she laughed, choosing to ignore it this time."Thanks. I guess I was in such a hurry to get to the park, that I didn't notice you were there until it was a little too late."

Gaara smirked. "Running into the Kazekage isn't a great first impression." he scolded jokingly.

--

A person farther behind scowled, eavesdropping on their little conversation. 'What does he think he's talking about? She doesn't need an impression on him. SHE DOESN'T CARE THAT WAY FOR HIM!'

--

"First impression?" she asked.

"You do know why I'm here, right?" Gaara asked as they continued along the road together.

Sakura nodded. "Of course! Who doesn't?" she giggled and pointed to the fan girls all squealing over some recent pictures of the redheaded Kazekage. Who knows how they got a hold of those...?

"So, I'm guessing you're also headed to the park, then?" He gestured towards the crowded grassy area that was currently filled with decorations and looking rather festive.

"Yep. I volunteered to help out with a couple of my friends."

--

Smirk. 'Yeah, that's right!'

--

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I actually kind of got rigged into it by Naruto." Sakura grinned. "And you know Naruto's techniques. Rather hard to say no."

Gaara smiled fondly. "Of course. How is Uzumaki doing?"

Sakura sighed. "He's great and has a girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga, but really, do you need to call us all by last names?"

Gaara looked confused. "But, I am Kazekage. I have duties and I can't let personal-"

"OK, OK. I get it." she sighed, shaking her head. "But, at least call us by our first names while you're here."

--

'OK, that's it.' the shadowy person gave a possessive growl and stalked out.

--

"Well-" Gaara started, but was interrupted when suddenly a person from behind called out.

"Oi! Sakura!" Naruto chirped, dragging along a tired looking Hyuuga behind him

--

'Crap. Well, at least he'll stop their alone time, but I better join. Make it casual.'

--

"Gaara?!" Naruto asked, surprised then raced up beside them and gave the Kazekage a friendly pat on the back. "You're here already! Welcome to my-"

Another person sighed and stepped up. "It's not your village, dobe."

"Teme!" Naruto cried out on instinct and turned to face the dark haired avenger.

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke replied, smirking.

Just as Naruto was about to retort, Sakura stopped him and spoke up.

"I think we should head to the park, don't you guys?"

"Right." They all nodded, except Sasuke who 'hn'd.

The moment they entered the park, they were swarmed by girls, all begging the Kazekage to pick them. The worst impression the poor Kazekage.

"Poor you." Sakura whispered to Gaara and the four took off running and chuckling/laughing/giggling while Gaara desperately tried to get free.

Sighhh. A lot like Suna, but completely different he sighed again and turned his eyes to where Sakura was laughing with Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata. More people joined them, but Gaara wasn't paying attention. His gaze was only focused on Sakura and Sasuke.

They seemed close and he knew most of their past, but he wasn't sure about the present relationship. Were they really close? Or were they just clinging onto the past and not wanting the present or the future, yet still begging for change.

Who knows what change they could've wanted, but as far as Gaara knew, his standings and ranks in this village's female shinobi, Sakura was at the very top, and what a lovely candidate, too.

--

**AN: Yea... I tried for V-day, but this isn't really the mushy (gross) feel you need on that day, so screw that! lol Hope you guys like! I know it was short, but I wasn't sure what else I could put in here... So yeah! Lol Btw, Sasuke was the 'mysterious' shadowy person. Lol! I love making Sasuke possessive! XD Sorry it isn't that long, next will be better, promise!**

**Dedicated to my reviewers from my last two chapters since I forgot on chapter 2:**

_Lady Catriea (twice), My Broken Death Angel (twice), and PieciesHateScorpios_

THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! And Lady V-chan, since she kind of gave me reviews and encouragements through PMs. You guys rock:D

- Cady .


	4. After All, Uchiha's Never Love

**Disclaimer: **I do not own!! Naruto anyways... I own this fic, though, so enjoy!!

**AN: IMPORTANT!! To anyone who is reading this fiction (to you, obviously, since you're reading this, aren't you?), it's going on an official hold, and won't be updated again until 'What's Wrong Hina-Chan?' is complete. Good news, though, all stories will be updated much faster once March is over, I guarantee you guys that! Reasons being; birthday over; relatives gone; one story on hiatus, both one shots (one a sequel) will have been complete and out; and 'Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire' has gotten really going now, which, in turn, has gotten the others up again. Yippees! XD**

**Also, I need to know who should end up with Sakura. This poll will be at the top of each chapter with the results so far. VOTING STARTS ****NOW****!! Even if you said in one of your earlier reviews which you want it to be, can you please say again? Other wise it gets confusing!**

GaaSaku: 0

SasuSaku: 0

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All These Games

Ch.4 - After All, Uchiha's Never Love

The sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky, birds chirping, and many people - cough - girls - cough - were wearing light, short clothing. The park had been finished about an hour ago for a certain famous kazekage, however, said man was no where in sight.

A shadowy figure stepped out from behind a building near the Hokage's tower and slowly crept along towards the park. Not a sound was made, quite an impressive feat, considering the person was clothed in extremely heavy, dark, long materials. A trench coat-like jacket, dark sunglasses, and even a hat to complete the whole 'dark stranger' look.

Who was under this ensemble, currently in the middle of about thirty females and avoiding them as much as possible? Well, it was our very own-

"GAARA!" A voice called out loudly. "HEY GAARA!!"

A blur of orange zoomed through the crowd of females, and straight to this dark 'stranger' in the midst of all thirty or so, more coming in to see what the commotion was all about.

This commotion was, of course, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hey, Gaara?" He started.

The darkly clothed man glared.

"What's with all these clothes? Aren't you getting kind of hot in there...?" Naruto asked, and with that, he swiped off the coat, sunglasses, and hat.

What do you know? A very recognizeable redhead, with steam coming out of his ears.

"Ano... Gaara?" Naruto asked nervously.

"..." Another glare, this one worse since there were no glasses to shield it. Sand was also suspiciously looming behind him.

Naruto trembled. "W-what's with the glare?"

Just as Gaara was about to either pummel him, make Naruto into a sand sculpture, or just retort (unlikely!), he was interrupted by a lot of squealing. "KYAAA!! Gaara-kun!"

Naruto and Gaara turned slowly towards the noise on the left, then to the right, and realized rather quickly that they had 'surround sound fan girl'. They were trapped.

"I-I th-think I know w-why you are mad a-and why you had a-all those clothes now!" Naruto squeaked in a very Hinata-like manner.

"You think?!" the Kazekage growled, making Naruto cringe.

Just then, a loud brunette stepped forward. "Gaara-kun? Will you marry me?"

Silence...

"Silence is golden..." Gaara mumbled.

"NO, MARRY ME!"

"No, ME!"

"Me!!"

"Why YOU when he can have ME?!"

"Of course, duck tape is silver!" Naruto grinned devilishly, putting his hand in his back pocket to take out a random, _silver_ something. The two exchanged looks.

**A couple minutes later**

"Uh, Gaara? Naruto" A rather timid voice called out.

Gaara and Naruto quickly turned around to find Sakura and Hinata stepping cautiously towards them.

"What's up, Hina-chan? Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, grinning widely.

"A-ano..." Hinata started, shyly.

"What's with all the fan girls?" Sakura asked, incredulously. "I-Is that _duck tape_?"

Gaara and Naruto took on the facial expressions of deers caught in the headlights.

"Well, you know what they say..." Naruto laughed sheepishly.

Gaara smirked. "Silence is golden, but duck tape is silver."

Sakura and Hinata smacked their foreheads. Of course.

Sakura sighed, bending down while motioning for Hinata to do the same.

Gaara and Naruto stepped forward to see what they were doing and they almost gasped.

"No! Don't let them go!" Gaara exclaimed, almost shaking. Isn't it weird how the bravest of men could go and fight Akatsuki members or other criminals, sometimes even killing them, but when it came to a stampede of fan girls, they were reduced to nothing but cowardly teens, begging for survival?

Sakura laughed. "Calm down, Gaara! The fifty or so that you have tied - or should I say - _taped_up, make up at least half the kunoichi power in this village!"

"Tch. Population, yes. Power, no." Gaara mumbled, but Sakura caught that and glared.

"I don't like them either, but honestly! Can't you go even a day of just ignoring them?" she asked, still almost laughing through her playful glare.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

She just sighed. "Fine. Then at least head to the park. A lot of people are waiting for you there. You know that, right?"

"Of course." he replied, already turning towards the grassy area, now covered in decorations.

Sakura ignored him and turned back to Hinata, who was still undoing the taped up females. Of course, Naruto was helping his girlfriend, but it was rather begrudgingly.

The girls didn't immediately chase after the retreating redhead, like the four - including Gaara - thought, but instead kept their distance a bit, trying to give him space. Weird. It seemed that they were finally learning their lesson.

Suddenly screaming was heard from behind the three, who had just finished unwrapping the last girl from the tape, and when they turned around, all three almost laughed. Of course, Sakura wanted to drool a bit, but stopped herself in time.

For there, was Uchiha Sasuke in all his glory; no shirt on and swim suit style shorts on, with regular, brown sandals instead of the usual, black ninja ones he wore. His arms were crossed over his bare chest and his eyes were shut firmly.

If not for the irritation marks and pulsing veins all over him, you'd think he was completely peaceful.

Sasuke opened an eye in annoyance and glared at all the crowding females. Apparently, it was no use, as they all just crooned more.

"It's your fault for coming shirtless." Sakura said, giggling slightly at the light glare he sent her.

"It's hot and there's no way I'm wearing another dark shirt today." he stated, facing her completely, ignoring the swoons and giggles aimed at him from the 'love'-struck girls.

She actually laughed this time and grabbed his arm. "Come on, we've got to head down to the park." she told him, pulling him along and he switched it to his hand in hers.

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes, entering the park and pushing through more fan girls as well as a few fan boys **(AN: Hers, people!)**. "You were almost late." she chastised.

Sasuke snorted. "Almost isn't late, now is it?" he asked, which made Sakura glare at him playfully.

She sighed, for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. "Whatever. I want to see how this turns out. Don't you?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. I still don't even see why Konoha is doing all this."

Sakura glared with a huff. "Konoha's doing it because we're allied with Sound and this will strengthen the bond at the very least if he finds some one."

"And if he doesn't?"

She sputtered. "You're impossible to please, you know that?"

Sasuke almost chuckled. _'Not quite impossible...'_ he thought, idly, then did a retake. _'What on earth did I mean by that?'_Shrugging it off again, he turned his attention back to Sakura, who now had Naruto and Hinata beside them as well.

"-and I even got a discount! Not that I didn't deserve it, of course. His ramen is getting better, though! Did you know that he might be getting coupons? I'll get the first of course, but Hinata can come. Maybe even Gaara, Sakura, Teme, and the rest of Konoha twelve and Iruka-senseii, Kakashi-senseii, and-" Naruto rambled, but no one was paying attention to him, not even Hinata.

His girlfriend nodded her head, tiredly. "Of course, Naruto-kun, but let's go. They're starting up some music soon, and the food is lain out. Aren't you hungry?" she asked her eighteen-year-old boyfriend, who acted like her was still thirteen.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "YES, HINA-CHAN!!" he exclaimed, loudly, and quickly proceeded to drag her along to the food table.

Sakura chuckled and turned back to Sasuke. "Perfect couple, ne?"

"Meh."

She glared. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is there such thing as perfect in your world?" she asked, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"Ha, ha." he deadpanned, standing up with ease from a random seat he had found early in Naruto's mindless drabble. "You hungry?"

"What?" Her brow shot up in surprise. "You offering?" she asked, incredulously.

He turned to her in obvious annoyance. "Hn. Yes or no?"

"... Yes?" It was more of a question than a statement, but Sasuke apparently found satisfaction in her answer and nodded, pivoting on his heel, and walked off to the food.

Sakura plopped down. _'Sasuke's been acting so... not Sasuke-like. I wonder why...? Couldn't be because of this festival or Gaara. Maybe I should just give up on him, once and for all. After all,'_ she thought, sadly. _'Uchiha's never show emotion, nor do they... love.'_

**

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AN: Out out! HERE IT IS!! Mwuhahahahaaa! I have conquered this chapter, and if you look at the random parts closely, you can tell how bored I was on a scale of 1-10! XD Yeah, I'm bored and hyper and I can control lives!! YIPPEE!! Not a good combination, but Mwuhahahaa again! PS. I'M SOOOO SORRY! I meant to update a while ago, but my mom found a couple pages of homework I hadn't done, so yeah... -Sweat drops- I'll try to do better! Really! VOTE!! ...And review. :D

**Thanks to meh reviewers, this is once again dedicated to you:**

_deepcutfighter, GaaSakuforever, PieciesHateScorpios, Lady V-chan_ (you especially! I'm extra sorry! Please forgive me?)_, Satan's Little Girl, My Broken Death Angel, earthbender068__, and 0x-i-Need-A-Hug-x0_

**And to my sister! She is a great helper and supporter, even if she doesn't review on this particular story!**

_**- Cady :D**_


	5. Girl Scouting!

**Disclaimer:** No ownership here. Try **Kishimoto**-sama. :) -Bows deeply-

**AN:**Well, I'm back. Even though I was on 'break' from this story, whenever I had inspiration for it, I'd add a little something. Now that 'W. W. H-C?' is done (thank goodness, but ... I'm starting to miss it! T.T Haha.), I can come back and finish this story! Thanks for all the reviews, they were, and still are, greatly appreciated. Now, for the next chapter, ne?

**-Oh, wait! Poll so far:**

GaaSaku: 8

SasuSaku: 4

**Keep voting, peoples!! Thanks for the votes that are already up. You can vote once, but you can also change your vote at any time. This poll will be going for another two chapters, but there will be fluff for both pairings in the meantime! My vote doesn't count -- and I won't tell you what it would be for! XD lol**

**NOW, on with the story! :D****

* * *

All These Games  
**Ch.5 - Girl Scouting~!

Gaara glared, absentmindedly pushing a few sweat-drenched strands of his flame-red hair from his face. _'If only she would hurry up...!'_

Impatient, he may seem, but you see, this young Kazekage was currently sitting out in the park in a semi-comfortable lawn chair, scouting out females for his purpose (as had become his routine for the last three days or so). He hated calling it anything but that, for Sakura loved to tease him, constantly saying things like 'Gaara! Found any good ones?' Or 'Gaa-ra-chan! Time to go girl-scoping!' She was annoying as hell sometimes!

Speaking of that infuriating kunoichi, she was the whole reason Gaara was so agitated at the moment! Or, at least, one of the main reasons.

Sakura had promised on his first day of 'scoping' that she would stick with him to find someone. However, while she had stuck to that agreement the other times, today she was rather pre-occupied...

Or rather: she was talking to Uchiha Sasuke.

_'Sasuke...'_

Oh, that dark haired teen just annoyed Gaara to no end sometimes. He really hadn't minded him to start off, but now... Now, the two team mates (or former team mates? Gaara could never really tell.) were talking a lot more than since he had first arrived.

At first, he'd figured that, yes; there was a chance there were feelings there, but nothing to worry about. Apparently, he needed to rethink that a little bit.

He growled quietly, yet still audibly, when an attractive blonde stepped in front of where the two conversing members of Team 7 were standing. It took him a moment, but he realized that this annoyed him thoroughly, and just as he was about to tell them off when-

"Gaara-_chan_... Are you ignoring your own older sister?!"

Gaara groaned as he recognized the voice. "Ah... Temari."

She was just about to respond, when another person called out. "Temari!!"

"Eh?" The Suna kunoichi spun around, scanning the crowd quickly before a pink blur catapulted into her side.

_'Wait... Pink?' _The red-haired male's head shot up. _'Oh. Well, I guess my _dear_ sister can be of use sometimes, huh?'_

"Sakura-chan!" Temari exclaimed, giving the petite girl one of those boy-ish, rogue-like grins she was so well known for.

"I didn't think that you were coming!"

"Well, of course I would! You didn't think that I would miss my little bro's wedding, did'ja?"

Just then, a grumbling Uchiha walked up to the trio, Naruto hopping along side of him.

"What's up with those two?" Sasuke asked the blonde male beside him.

Naruto looked at his best friend questioningly before realization finally hit him. "Oh! You mean Sakura and Temari?"

Sasuke just sent him a look that clearly said 'Who else, dim-wit'.

"Well, I guess they just sorta bonded while you were gone. Sakura had saved Kankurou when he was dying from Sasori's poison, then later helped to get Gaara back from the Akatsuki. I suppose that they just got close after that..."

He nodded his head. "Aa."

Gaara frowned a bit at the Uchiha, but just sent him a nod in greeting, and after Temari had said hello to everyone in the group, she left to go get changed. Apparently, not even the Suna ninja was quite expecting this blazing weather.

"Does that mean Kankurou is coming too?" Sakura asked, turning her attention to Gaara.

"Knowing him, he's already here..."

Naruto frowned but Sakura laughed a bit, nodding her head in agreement. "Whaddaya mean? He's here? What's he doing, then?"

"Helping out my lil' brother, of course..."

The former Team Seven spun around to see Kankurou standing a couple feet off, his arm around a scantily-clad attractive brunnette.

Sakura scrunched her face up in disgust. He laughed at that. "Ah, don't worry, you can be next, if you like!"

He sent a wink at her that she playfully 'dodged', then gave a laugh. "Nah, I think I'll pass."

Gaara raised an eyebrow at his brother. "How exactly are you helping?" He gave a pointed look at the arm around the girl - who was looking a bit ... out of it.

Kankurou grinned. "By crossing off which ones would cheat by just a wink or two. This girl was saying about an hour ago that she was your number one fan..."

Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, and even Sasuke all looked non-plussed by that comment. "I see..." Gaara muttered.

"Well," Naruto spoke up. "If that's your number one fan, you're screwed!"

He burst out laughing, but Sakura slapped him upside the head. "Baka!" Then she noticed Sasuke's smirk. "Hey, don't think that your fans don't do the same thing." That smirk faltered for a second and she knew that she had wounded his ego. She allowed herself a satisfied smirk of her own.

Gaara also smirked at that, but it went by unnoticed. "Anyway," he said finally. "Could you just ... take her else where?"

"To dispose of?" Naruto asked jokingly, but was a bit shocked when he saw a considering look pass through the Kazekage's face. "U-um... I don't think that- I mean, I know that she's, well..."

Kankurou laughed. "No worries, baka. I think he meant to just take her away from here." He paused, then added under his breath, "I think..."

There was an awkward silence, before Kankurou spoke up again, "Well, I guess I'm off!" With a grin to Team Seven and an uneasy glance at his younger brother, he walked out of the park and out of view.

They watched him go, before Sakura turned back to Gaara. "So... You have some girl-scoping to do, right...?" Gaara turned to her quickly. Obviously, he had hoped that it was forgotten, but -- Sakura wouldn't allow that. She grinned "You haven't forgotten why you're here, ri-ght?"

The Kazekage winced. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, but sat back down in his lawn-chair, realizing that he couldn't quite remember when he had stood up from it. Must've been when she came up, almost like an automatic thing... 'This could be a problem if the Kazekage always stands up when a single girl walks up to him...'

"Then, I guess we'll get going." Sakura announced, looking to her team mates for confirmation and was met with a glittery-eyed Naruto.

"For ramen," he asked hopefully. "I mean, you've been always with him," Here, he pointed at Gaara. "and you've barely had any time for us!" He whined.

She laughed. "Alright, sure. But I'm not paying."

Both immediately turned to their last team mate. Sasuke, caught completely off guard (a rare thing for him, Gaara noted, but something that happened more often when he was around those two...), was silent for a moment as he processed, but apparently, he took too long and just as was opening his mouth to turn them down, Naruto turned and bounded off. "I'll go find Hinata and it can be like a double date!"

While he was only joking, he hadn't seen the red crawl onto both Sakura's _and_Sasuke's cheeks in his haste. The two glanced awkwardly at each other. Sakura turned to Gaara, intending to invite him along, too, but Sasuke saw it coming. "We had better go now." He said quickly, then added, "Otherwise the dobe will already be finished by the time we get there."

Sakura sent another glance to Gaara, but he only shrugged and turned to look around. She hesitated for a moment, before nodding. "Sure, let's go. See ya, Gaara! Good luck!" She stuck her tongue out, then turned and followed her team mate out of the park, chatting to him animatedly as they went.

Gaara turned to watch them go and frowned a bit. He had kind of hoped that she would just drag him along, too. Oh well, she was right - he did need to get this done. He turned his attention back to the girls all around him, his dark sunglasses covering his sea-foam green eyes. The sunglasses, he found, were a must to conceal who he was looking at. However, no matter how good looking all these girls looked, he still found none appealing at all, and could only let his mind taking him back to an image of a certain pink-haired girl...

His frown deepened. _'Okay, seriously?! Why her...? What was so special about that infuriating Konoha kunoichi?'_ Suddenly, Gaara blanched. It couldn't be ... that he actually _liked_her... Right? He certainly hoped not -- pink haired sons would just look a bit odd, especially if they were going to be the Kazekage's!

It surprised him that that was the only con about this thought, though. He knew that she was certainly a very good candidate for his wife with the kind of crediantials she had, but he hadn't figured when had come to Konoha in the first place that he would actually end up liking someone here - even _loving_. (Of course, it hadn't come to that yet, but you never know... He hadn't liked a girl this way before, so there was no saying that it couldn't happen that he'd fall in love...) His father had never loved him, let alone his wife. She had been picked by the council and had died only a year or so after Gaara's birth.

For him, as Kazekage, to actually marry someone that he had not only picked, but loved, was something he hadn't thought of. Had never crossed his mind. But it had now, and he was liking the idea. Especially, if the person he married would the female of Team Kakashi...

He stood, mind made up. No need to be here, wasting his time. He needed to talk to the Hokage... Getting the permission from the mother-like figure to her apprentice would be the first step in courting Haruno Sakura.

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**AN:**And it's done - sorry it's so short, though. I just wanted it out~! XD This time, I followed Gaara about with my little stalker-like cleverness (since he's winning the poll right now... :P)! I've missssed this fic and I've missed you guys! -Gets all emotional- -Sniff, sniff- ... Well, now that _that_is done... AH HAH! I told you that I'd be back and that I would FINISH IT! Mwuhahahaaa! I love it when I'm right! XP lol See you in the next chapter...

**Thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter (ages ago! Eep!). Kinda curious to see how much of you will be coming back... Now, they were:**

_PieciesHateScorpios_, _XxmotojixX_ **(used to be **cute0anime0addict**, right? :D)**, _My Broken Death Angel_, _EstherAngelofDeath_, _Ox-i-Need-A-Hug-xO_, _cherrygardenangel_, _Lady V-chan_, _The TalkingPaper_ (x2) _Sabaku No Eva AKA Saki_, _Gaara's sexy visen Sakura_, _2lazy2type_, _troublesomename_, _LIFE-sucks-balls_, _oni-hime-san_, _ruler and pen_, _mewantpancake_, _KitChi_, and _a thousand cranes_

**Holy crap; that's a lot (18)...  
XD THANKS!!! XD  
And don't forget to review! :)**

_**- Cady**_

_**Ps. Wanna hear a funny scene from manga I read? :D  
**__Ootake: 'Hey... How come he isn't getting mad?! Well...'  
__-SLAP!!-  
__Ootake: 'I'll get mad at her for him!' "Just because of that, don't meant that you can go cheating on people!"  
__(GOLDEN--)__Tenku: "Say no to violence!"  
__Cheating ex-girlfriend: *Gasps* "I haven't even been hit by __daddy__ before!"  
__The other guy: "Who are you, anyway-?!"  
__**LOL Gosh, I love it... Classic one shot, Shoujo manga, ne? XD Anyways... Go on about your day and ignore this little manga-fanatic over here... :P**_


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